Champions League Archives

Real Madrid to play Manchester City in Champions League last 16

Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will take on Chelsea.

The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before travelling to England for the return the following week.

The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league phase, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.

That allowed City, Champions League winners in 2023, to advance straight to the last 16 while Madrid had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, in which they beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.

This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout phase play-offs last season, and in the quarter-finals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024.

They also emerged victorious in the semi-finals in 2022, with City winning at the same stage the following year.

PSG will be at home to Chelsea in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase.

The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those confrontations in the quarter-finals and PSG triumphing in the last 16 in the following two.

Their last encounter came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who had previously come up against PSG in Ligue 1 as the coach of Strasbourg.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United will take on Barcelona with the first leg at St James’ Park, where the Spanish side won 2-1 during the league phase in September.

There is a record total of six English clubs in the last 16. Liverpool will have a rematch against Galatasaray, the Turkish giants having defeated the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league phase.

Arsenal will come up against Bayer Leverkusen, and Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid.

German champions Bayern Munich will play Atalanta, the sole Italian club left in the competition, while Norwegian upstarts Bodo/Glimt’s reward for knocking out Inter Milan is a last-16 tie against Sporting of Portugal.

The first legs will take place on March 10 and 11, with the second legs a week later.

The teams that qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league phase will all be at home in the return matches.

This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.

READ: Neymar ends goal drought as Santos edge Vasco da Gama

PSG survive Monaco scare to reach Champions League last 16

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) came from behind and then survived a late scare against 10-man Monaco, drawing 2-2 in the second leg of their Champions League knockout phase play-off tie on Wednesday to reach the last 16 with a 5-4 aggregate victory.

The defending European champions recovered from two behind to win 3-2 in the principality in last week’s first leg, a game in which Monaco had a man sent off early in the second half.

The scenario this time was similar, with French international Maghnes Akliouche giving Monaco a deserved interval lead on the night to level the scores overall.

However, the visitors had Mamadou Coulibaly sent off on 58 minutes, and that proved the catalyst for PSG to make it 1-1 through Marquinhos before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia seemed to have clinched the aggregate triumph.

Jordan Teze did make it 2-2 in stoppage time, and Wout Faes then missed a great chance, but PSG held on to progress to the next round.

Luis Enrique’s team will now find out on Friday their potential opponents all the way to the final in Budapest, with Barcelona and Chelsea their possible rivals in the last 16.

Paris beat Barcelona 2-1 away during the league phase in October and have faced the Catalans in five knockout ties since 2013. They played Chelsea in the final of the Club World Cup last year, losing 3-0, their only blip in a remarkable campaign.

While PSG’s dream of retaining the title remains alive, Monaco go out in the play-offs for the second season running.

PSG were widely expected to get the better of their domestic rivals — Monaco are currently eighth in Ligue 1, 20 points behind the leaders, although they did beat the Parisians in November.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

The principality side had not won a Champions League knockout tie since their run to the semi-finals in 2017 with a side featuring a teenage Kylian Mbappe.

Having been 2-0 up inside 18 minutes last week, Monaco really should have scored within 10 minutes here, but Coulibaly blazed over from an Akliouche cutback. They then came close again when a Folarin Balogun chip was tipped over by Matfei Safonov.

Bradley Barcola struck the bar for PSG, who were missing the injured Ousmane Dembele, but Monaco had been the better team and took a deserved lead just before half-time.

Caio Henrique’s ball into the middle from the left found Coulibaly, and he laid it off for Akliouche to slot in.

The tie was now all square, but it swung back in the way of the defending champions when Coulibaly was sent off just before the hour, leaving his team a man short, like in the first leg when Aleksandr Golovin saw red.

Having been booked just a few minutes earlier for fouling Nuno Mendes, this time he was late into a challenge on Achraf Hakimi and a second yellow was produced by the Romanian referee.

PSG scored from the resulting free-kick, which was played short to Doue on the right and his low ball was turned in from close range by Marquinhos.

The momentum was now with PSG, and they went ahead on the night on 66 minutes as Hakimi’s powerful strike was only parried by goalkeeper Philipp Koehn, allowing Kvaratskhelia to convert the loose ball.

Monaco still came within a whisker of forcing extra time, substitute Teze turned in a deflected Simon Adingra centre in stoppage time to make it 2-2, and Faes very nearly scored another.

READ: Galatasaray hold off Juventus to make Champions League last 16

Galatasaray hold off Juventus to make Champions League last 16

Galatasaray scraped through to the last 16 of the Champions League despite throwing away a three-goal aggregate lead at 10-man Juventus on Wednesday, with two extra-time goals limiting the Turkish outfit to a 3-2 defeat.

Victor Osimhen and Baris Yilmaz scored the goals which allowed Galatasaray to win a thrilling tie 7-5 on aggregate and set up a clash with either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the next round.

Galatasaray’s previous appearance in the last 16 of Europe’s elite club competition was in 2014, and they were fortunate to make it through on Wednesday, even with Juve having to play most of the night with 10 men.

Juve were leading on the night through Manuel Locatelli’s 37th-minute penalty when Lloyd Kelly was harshly shown a straight red card shortly after half-time for landing from a jump with his studs on Yilmaz’s Achilles heel.

Kelly could hardly believe his eyes when he was initially shown a second yellow card.

But he was livid after a check on the pitchside monitor led referee Joao Pinheiro to revoke that decision, only to show him a straight red card for serious foul play.

The English defender was filmed loudly proclaiming the decision “a disgrace” while Juve coach Luciano Spalletti looked on, dumbstruck from the sidelines.

“It was pretty absurd. He gets the ball, and then what’s he supposed to do? Us defenders are penalised too often in today’s football,” said distraught centre-back Federico Gatti.

“Leaving that aside, it was a brilliant reaction… It’s disappointing that we were just tired when we got to extra time.

“It’s disappointing because these are the best matches to play — the Champions League is the best competition.”

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

That decision looked to have killed Juve’s chances of mounting a comeback, but Gatti pulled another goal back with 20 minutes remaining and 12 minutes later, after Kenan Yildiz hit the post from close range, Weston McKennie headed the hosts level in the tie.

Edon Zhegrova had his head in his hands in the sixth minute of extra time when he slapped well wide a glorious chance to complete the comeback, and Osimhen punished Juve by stroking home his best chance of the game.

Yilmaz ended Juve’s hopes of taking the tie to penalties with a goal which flattered Galatasaray, who splashed the cash last summer, including 75 million euros to take Osimhen from Juve’s Serie A rivals Napoli.

Gala’s vice-president, Abdullah Kavukcu, has been bullish in the last few days, saying that the club would sign Inter Milan midfielder and Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu.

But their performance on Wednesday was marked more by cynicism than quality, with Gala’s players doing their best to waste time and buy fouls in the style of Italian teams of old.

Juve, meanwhile, were applauded off by their supporters after a display which will boost them in their bid to qualify for next season’s edition of the Champions League.

The Turin giants are fifth in Serie A, four points behind fourth-placed Roma before their trip to face the capital club on Sunday.

READ: Vinicius hits winner as Real Madrid eliminate Benfica after racism row

Vinicius hits winner as Real Madrid eliminate Benfica after racism row

Vinicius Junior scored the winner on the night as Real Madrid beat Benfica 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, progressing 3-1 on aggregate to the last 16.

It was the Brazilian forward’s superb goal which separated the teams in a first leg marred by an incident of alleged racial abuse aimed at him by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, who denies it.

Jose Mourinho’s side were still alive in the play-off round tie and took the lead early on at the Santiago Bernabeu through Rafa Silva, although Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni swiftly levelled.

Benfica gave the record 15-time champions a rough ride, but fittingly, Vinicius, who never hides from the spotlight, scored on 80 minutes to effectively end the contest.

“That is our Vinicius,” Tchouameni proudly told Movistar after the Brazilian’s winner. “To be honest, we didn’t start the game very well, but we kept our confidence.”

It was Portuguese coach Mourinho’s first time back at the Santiago Bernabeu since he coached Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, but he could not lead his team from the dugout because of a suspension.

After a week dominated by the fallout from the first leg, Vinicius lined up for Real Madrid alongside Gonzalo Garcia, who stepped in for the injured French superstar Kylian Mbappe.

“(Vini) had a great game,” Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa told Movistar. “Unbalancing them, scoring, creating a lot of danger every time he took them on.”

Benfica were without banned midfielder Prestianni, after an appeal against his provisional one-game sanction was turned down earlier on Wednesday, with UEFA still investigating the incident.

Madrid hung a large banner reading “no to racism” at one end, with the game played under the shadow of what happened last week in Lisbon.

There were boos for Vinicius from the visiting Benfica fans, and he prodded wide in the early stages, appealing in vain for a penalty as Nicolas Otamendi collided with him after he got his shot away.

Benfica took a deserved lead in the 14th minute as Madrid defender Raul Asencio clumsily turned the ball towards his own goal.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois kept the ball out, but Silva was on hand to bundle home from close range.

Stung into action, Madrid pulled level two minutes later through Tchouameni. The French midfielder finished with aplomb from the edge of the box from rampaging team-mate Federico Valverde’s cross.

Madrid thought they had gone ahead on the night when Arda Guler stabbed home a loose ball after Garcia’s shot was blocked, but the Spanish striker had edged offside, and it was disallowed after a VAR review.

Courtois made a fine save from Richard Rios before the break, as Benfica turned up the pressure.

Silva hit the bar with a deflected effort before the hour mark as Mourinho’s side at times pinned back the hosts.

Madrid were dealt a setback as Asencio was forced off on a stretcher after colliding with Eduardo Camavinga.

“It’s his neck, but it doesn’t seem like it will be that bad,” said Arbeloa, who confirmed the defender was being taken to the hospital for tests.

It had to be Vinicius who settled the tie, though, and Valverde played him scuttling through on goal, with the Brazilian calmly rolling a low shot past goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.

Vinicius produced another celebratory dance by the corner flag, as he had done in the first leg in the run-up to the flashpoint with Prestianni, and to the chagrin of Mourinho.

“I’m happy that Vini’s dancing, still dancing, because it means he’s scoring goals,” said Courtois.

This time, the 25-year-old just had thousands of jubilant fans jumping up and down before him, and his goal confirmed Madrid’s passage to the last 16.

READ: How Pakistan can still reach semi-finals after Sri Lanka elimination?

Newcastle complete cruise into Champions League last 16

Newcastle United completed their stroll into the Champions League last 16 with a 3-2 win over Qarabag on Tuesday to progress 9-3 on aggregate over the Azeri champions.

The Magpies will make up a six-strong contingent of English sides in the last 16 alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham.

A tie that involved an over 5,000-mile (8,000-kilometre) round trip for both sides was killed off inside 45 minutes last week as Newcastle led 5-0 at half-time on their way to a 6-1 rout.

That allowed Eddie Howe to heavily rotate his side, with four-goal hero from the first leg, Anthony Gordon, among those left on the bench.

But he was still disappointed with how Newcastle handled the second half after another fast start as they added to their lead twice inside the opening six minutes of the match.

Sandro Tonali fired in the rebound after Dan Burn’s shot was saved, before Joelinton stroked in Harvey Barnes’ cross.

“I think if you look at the score over the two legs, it’s been fantastic from the players, even though today feels like a bit of a hollow win for us,” said Howe.

“I thought at 2-0 we probably came off the pedal. We didn’t intend to do that, but it was sort of the natural reaction.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“In the second half, the game became end-to-end, which, for us, was a real shame. For one, we expended too much energy, and it meant we didn’t put pressure on their goal.”

Qarabag had taken the scalps of Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt in the league phase to make the play-off round, and at least salvaged some pride with two goals in the second period.

Camilo Duran outpaced Burn to pull a goal back before the Newcastle defender was penalised for handball inside the box.

Aaron Ramsdale saved Marko Jankovic’s penalty, but Elvin Jafarguliyev netted the rebound.

In between the visitors’ two goals, Sven Botman powered in a header from a corner.

That took the tally of goals conceded by Qarabag in the Champions League to 30 — a single-season record in the competition.

A much tougher test lies ahead of Newcastle next month when they will take on either Barcelona or Chelsea in the last 16.

READ: Bodo/Glimt sink Inter Milan to continue Champions League fairy tale

Bodo/Glimt sink Inter Milan to continue Champions League fairy tale

Bodo/Glimt completed the greatest achievement in the Norwegian minnows’ history on Tuesday by winning 2-1 at Inter Milan and reaching the last 16 of the Champions League, 5-2 on aggregate.

Leading 3-1 from last week’s first leg in the Arctic Circle, goals in the second half from former AC Milan forward Jens Petter Hauge and Hakon Evjen stunned the San Siro and set up a tie with either Manchester City or Sporting of Portugal in the next round.

“For us it’s been unbelievable, we knew it would be very hard against Inter, who are a very strong team and played in the final last season,” said Hauge.

“I have faith in this project, and we’re showing it in the Champions League.”

More than 3,000 fans travelled to Milan to watch their team continue a remarkable debut season in Europe’s elite club competition, a huge number for a club from a city with a population of around 50,000.

There were 20,000 more people at the San Siro than live in Bodo on Tuesday night, and the vast majority left disappointed after Inter, who scored late through Alessandro Bastoni, failed to mount the comeback coach Cristian Chivu believed could happen.

Inter’s elimination was another blow for Italian football on the European stage, with all four Serie A clubs likely to be out of the Champions League come Thursday.

Juventus and Atalanta trail Galatasaray and Borussia Dortmund, respectively, with few giving either much of a chance of getting through ahead of their matches on Wednesday.

“The hardest thing to do today was to open the scoring, and we weren’t able to do it. You can only congratulate them, they beat us twice, so they deserved to go through,” said Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“Of course, we’re disappointed, we want to fight on every front, and we tried our best, but they were better than us.”

But it was a historic night for Bodo/Glimt, who have been crowned Norwegian champions in four of the last six seasons and will be a tough test for whoever they face next month.

Inter were, as expected, on the front foot from the off, and Pio Esposito headed over a great chance in the third minute from a Federico Dimarco cross.

Dimarco had a fizzing inswinger tipped over the bar by Nikita Haikin while Marcus Thuram watched on as his powerful long-range effort was deflected just over the bar.

But as the match wore on, a pattern emerged of Inter bluntly attacking down the flanks and putting in crosses that were comfortably dealt with by Bodo/Glimt’s defenders.

Hauge pounced in the 58th minute following a confused passage of play in which Inter defender Manuel Akanji, who had only moments before returned to the pitch following treatment for a cut eyebrow, gifted the ball to Ole Didrik Blomberg on the edge of the box.

Blomberg failed to score one-on-one with Yann Sommer, but Hauge was on hand to tuck in the rebound for his sixth goal in the Champions League to send the away fans delirious.

Akanji hit the post 10 minutes later, but Evjen made absolutely sure of Bodo/Glimt’s passage in the 72nd minute when he expertly lashed home Hauge’s searching pass into the box.

Bastoni forced the ball over the line shortly afterwards, but it mattered little for Inter, who are left with trying to secure the Serie A title, which looks likely due to a 10-point lead over local rivals Milan.

READ: Darwin to host first Test since 2004 in Australia-Bangladesh series

Chelsea, Aston Villa held in blow to Champions League hopes

Chelsea’s chances of Champions League qualification were dented as Burnley snatched a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, while Aston Villa also struck late to salvage a point against Leeds on Saturday.

The Blues climb into the Premier League’s top four only on goal difference after they paid for failing to build on Joao Pedro’s fourth-minute opener.

Chelsea were dominant until Wesley Fofana was sent off with 18 minutes remaining for a second yellow card.

Burnley took full advantage as Zian Flemming headed in from a corner in the 93rd minute to keep their slim hopes of survival alive.

The Clarets edge to within eight points of safety.

Villa defied the odds to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race until recent weeks, but a 1-1 draw continued their poor run at Villa Park.

Anton Stach’s spectacular free-kick from fully 40 yards (37 metres) at an angle caught out Emi Martinez at his near post to give Leeds the advantage.

Daniel Farke’s men have lost just twice in their last 16 games to relieve their fears of being dragged into a battle for survival.

But Tammy Abraham then snatched a point for Villa two minutes from time.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Five Premier League sides are set to qualify for next season’s Champions League thanks to the strong performance of English sides in European competition this season.

But Liverpool and Manchester United have the chance to close in when they face Nottingham Forest and Everton in the coming days.

James Milner set a new record of 654 Premier League appearances in Brighton’s 2-0 win at Brentford.

The 40-year-old started for the Seagulls as they secured a first win in seven games to ease the pressure on boss Fabian Hurzeler.

Diego Gomez drilled in the opening goal for the visitors after Ferdi Kadioglu’s stunning strike came back off the bar.

Danny Welbeck then pounced on some slack Brentford defending to double Brighton’s lead just before half-time.

Manchester City can close to within two points of leaders Arsenal when they host Newcastle in Saturday’s 2000GMT kick-off.

The Gunners have breathed new life into City’s title challenge with disappointing draws at Brentford and Wolves since Pep Guardiola’s men last played in the Premier League.

Arsenal are in action on Sunday when they travel to local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby.

READ: Flick tells Barca stars to feel ‘responsibility’ after damaging defeats

Schick steers Leverkusen past Olympiacos in Champions League

Patrik Schick scored twice in a four-minute spell to steer Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off tie on Wednesday.

Olympiacos, who beat Leverkusen in the league stage at home last month, were again impressive but were undone by Schick’s quick-fire brace midway through the second half.

“In the first half, it was a difficult match, Olympiacos pressed us with plenty of tempo and made things very complicated for us,” Schick told DAZN.

“In the second half, we improved a couple of things, scored two goals and got an important win.”

Leverkusen’s win puts them in the driver’s seat ahead of next week’s return leg in Germany, with the winners of this tie set to face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the last 16.

Wednesday’s victory was remarkably Leverkusen’s first away win in the knockout stage of the competition in their history.

It was also just their second victory in the knockout phase in 13 games dating back to the 2002 final, lost 2-1 to Real Madrid at Hampden Park.

Leverkusen have won six and drawn one of seven matches in all competitions since losing 2-0 to Olympiacos in January.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

In the lead-up to the match, Greek media reported Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis, the billionaire shipping magnate who also owns Premier League side Nottingham Forest, promised players a “record” bonus should they make it past Leverkusen.

As if spurred on, the hosts were brilliant early, pinning the Germans back in their own half in a breathless opening 25 minutes.

Leverkusen absorbed the pressure before going close on 28 minutes when Ibrahim Maza forced goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis into an acrobatic save.

Olympiacos forward Ayoub El Kaabi turned the ball in from a free-kick just before half-time, but VAR found teammate Mehdi Taremi, who was offside, had touched the ball, ruling out the goal.

The hosts once again pinned the visitors back after the interval, but Leverkusen took their chance to hit on the break on the hour mark.

Ernest Poku won the ball in his own half and advanced goalwards before threading a superb pass to Schick, who guided his strike into the bottom corner.

“I don’t really remember the situation — it was intuition, my movement,” Schick said. “I was one-on-one with the ‘keeper, I stayed calm — it was a good goal.”

The stunned hosts were unpicked again just three minutes later when Alex Grimaldo swung in a pinpoint corner, which Schick headed home to put Leverkusen in a commanding position.

READ: Arsenal blow two-goal lead in damaging Wolves draw

Club Brugge frustrate Atletico Madrid in Champions League stalemate

Greek winger Christos Tzolis grabbed a late equaliser for Club Brugge as Atletico Madrid twice let the lead slip in a 3-3 Champions League play-off first leg draw on Wednesday.

Diego Simeone’s side went 2-0 up in the first half, but Brugge fought back to 2-2, and after an own goal allowed the Spanish side to move back in front, Tzolis had the last word in Belgium.

Atletico, who have never won the Champions League, are a long way off the pace in La Liga and consider their best chances of silverware this season to be via a cup route.

However, their poor defending left everything to play for next Tuesday in the second leg, with a last 16 berth at stake.

“We were two up and didn’t know how to hold on to the lead,” Atletico captain Koke told Movistar.

“It was a rollercoaster, like it’s been all season. We have to concentrate more.”

Simeone admitted it was a tricky night against a side that drew 3-3 against Barcelona in the league phase.

“It was a game against possibly the most intense team in the Champions League,” said Simeone.

“The context of the game says that it was a fair draw… we’ve got the second leg at home and we hope to play a great game.”

Atletico took an early lead through a Julian Alvarez penalty after a careless handball by Joaquin Seys.

The striker, whose spot-kick against city rivals Real Madrid in last year’s competition was disallowed for a double touch, leading to Atletico’s elimination, dispatched it emphatically.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Brugge otherwise had the better of the first half, with Mamadou Diakhon whipping an effort narrowly wide, and Jan Oblak saving from Raphael Onyedika.

But the Belgians found themselves two down at the break.

Ademola Lookman, who has impressed since arriving in January, finished from close range after Antoine Griezmann flicked on Alvarez’s corner.

Brugge halved Atletico’s lead in the 52nd minute when Onyedika tapped home after a superb Oblak save to keep out Nicolo Tresoldi’s header.

Brugge striker Tresoldi was soon on the scoresheet himself to pull the Belgian side level on the hour mark, to the delight of the Jan Breydel stadium, finishing clinically from Diakhon’s cross.

Atletico striker Alexander Sorloth nodded narrowly wide before Joel Ordonez put through his own net to give the visitors the lead again.

However, in the 89th minute, Brugge struck again, with Tzolis played in down the left and finishing well. The goal was initially ruled out for offside but the decision was corrected after a VAR review.

“It was a very interesting game with different phases,” said Brugge coach Ivan Leko.

“Two-nil down against a very strong team… we were in a difficult situation but the team showed great character and quality in our play…

“Atleti will be big favourites but we can play football and we’ll do all we can to progress.”

READ: Kasper Hogh stars as Bodo/Glimt down Inter Milan in Champions League

Kasper Hogh stars as Bodo/Glimt down Inter Milan in Champions League

Bodo/Glimt continued their remarkable debut Champions League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Inter Milan in the knockout play-off round first leg on Wednesday, as Kasper Hogh scored once and created two other goals.

The Norwegians only snuck into the knock-out stage with shock victories over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in their final two league-phase matches.

Kjetil Knutsen’s men backed up those performances by adding last season’s runners-up Inter to their list of scalps.

Cristian Chivu’s Serie A leaders will still be confident of turning the tie around in the second leg at the San Siro next Tuesday, despite struggling on the artificial pitch of the Aspmyra Stadion in northern Norway.

“(Bodo/Glimt) are more accustomed to this pitch, that’s not an excuse,” Chivu said.

“The tie is wide open, there’s the return leg to come. We knew they are a team that can hurt you on the break, now we’ll try to advance to the next round at San Siro.”

To make matters worse for Inter, captain Lautaro Martinez hobbled off and was replaced by Marcus Thuram in the second half.

“I think he’s hurt and he will be out for a while,” Chivu said of Martinez.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Bodo/Glimt, Europa League semi-finalists last term, have given themselves a chance of securing a major surprise, and a last-16 meeting with either Man City or Sporting Lisbon.

The hosts took a 20th-minute lead with a fine team goal, finished off with aplomb by Sondre Brunstad Fet after he latched onto Hogh’s clever flick inside the area.

But Bodo could not keep their advantage for long as Inter youngster Pio Esposito swivelled inside the box and fired home on the half-hour mark, with the goal surviving a lengthy VAR review for handball.

Inter almost scored in the first minute after the restart when Martinez’s instinctive close-range shot bobbled off the post.

The Norwegians moved back in front in the 61st minute as they caught Inter short at the back, and Jens Petter Hauge rifled the ball into the roof of the net after being teed up by Hogh.

Bodo’s third goal arrived just three minutes later, as Patrick Berg put Ole Didrik Blomberg through on goal with a cute dinked pass, and he squared it for Hogh to tap into an empty net.

Danish striker Hogh has now scored four goals in his last three Champions League appearances following a double against Man City and the winner to defeat Atletico.

Inter pushed to cut the deficit, but Carlos Augusto’s blocked shot from eight yards out was the closest they came despite some late pressure.

READ: T20 World Cup: Agha eyes Namibia repeat against New Zealand